Just the facts, please

The other day Felicity and Camie came rushing in the house claiming they'd seen a snake. They've been on alert ever since Camie stepped on a baby copperhead snake (like this one) the day before her birthday. We didn't even see it until she lifted her shoe and there it was, irritated and poised to strike. I found a stick and jabbed it in its back, then we carried it (draped on the stick) to the shed where Camie had the honor of beating its brains out with a hatchet in an attempt to behead it. I told her that she sure found an exciting way to spend the last day of her 5th year.

Anyway, Lissy claimed she saw a snake in the shed. Camie reported that its eyes glittered and it was about as long as her arms outstretched, or so Lissy had told her. I was amused by this, so started asking for details.
R: How big around was it? Like this (I showed her my hands in about a 4 inch diameter circle), or maybe as big as my finger?
Lissy: Yeah, about the size of my finger (and she has tiny ones).
R: What was its tongue doing?
(Here she demonstrated)
R: How many feet did it have?
(That didn't get her. She laughed and told me it was a SNAKE, they don't have feet.)
L:And its head was about the size of. . . .(noticing Cassie sitting on the floor) of Cassie's head.
(Here I layed on the sofa and laughed.)
We three went back out to the shed where she showed me the location she'd seen it: on the ladder. I attempted to look behind some boxes for this 2.5' , 1/4"diameter, glittery-eyed, huge-headed snake and whacked my head on a shelf I'd not noticed. I asked Lissy what she had been doing in the shed without asking permission first. She said, "No, Mamma. I was at the door looking in!" So not only did she see this highly deformed snake slithering on a ladder, but she spotted it in the dark shed from 15 feet away.
What I learned: Never ask a 4 year old for a description of a criminal.